Panthers Reclaim Top Spot With Titan Win
The Potomac Falls Panthers raced by Dominion Thursday night in a 62-37 romp. With 2 regular season games remaining, the Panthers control their own destiny enroute to an automatic Region II tournament berth...
Photo by Yvette Gagnon \ Gameday Magazine | VIEW GALLERY
Potomac Falls junior Brendon Chesson led all Panther scorers Thursday night with 13 points. The Panthers retook the Dulles lead with the victory, coupled with Broad Run's loss to Park View...
Photo by Yvette Gagnon \ Gameday Magazine | VIEW GALLERY
Dominion senior Chris Huff matched top scorer honors with 13 points Thursday, but it was not enough to propel the Titans to victory over their cross-town rivals Potomac Falls...
Photo by Yvette Gagnon \ Gameday Magazine | VIEW GALLERY
GAMEDAY RECAP
by MICHAEL MARZZACCO
Gameday's Potomac Falls Columnist
POTOMAC FALLS, VA - After suffering a heartbreaking loss to Broad Run last week, the Potomac Falls Panthers returned to the hardwood Thursday night to take on their cross-town rivals, the Dominion Titans. Students from both schools always get excited for this game as Dominion's "D-Block" and Potomac Falls' "The Pit" met again. A month ago the Panthers got a close and hard fought win against the Titans at Dominion. This time these teams met at Potomac Falls for Senior Night, as Tarrell Owens and Garrett Hanson were honored before the game. The gym at Potomac Falls was packed.
In the game, the Panthers took care of the Titans as they scored the first seven points of the game. The Titans kept the game close and after the 1st quarter the Panthers were ahead 14-11. This would be the closest the Titans would get to the Panthers the entire night. The Panthers started rolling and headed into the locker room up 30-17. After the 3rd quarter, the Panthers opened up a 47-24 advantage. In that quarter, the Panthers outscored the Titans 17-7. The Panthers won the game with the final score 62-37. This was the best game the Panthers ever played against the Titans.
Coach Hawes was very excited about this victory. "Dominion was playing hard. We played hard, too, and we had some things go our way. We played well tonight, which was a great thing."
Senior Garrett Hanson added, "It meant a lot to me. Panther Basketball is really important in my life; it has guided me through High School. I thank Coach Hawes and Coach Bauder very much for all they have done for me. I couldn't have done it without them."
Garrett is a fan favorite. Whenever he plays the fans always want him to score and when he does the crowd goes wild. Garrett added, "I love the fans, they're great. I love our school. I really appreciate it because I'm not the guy who scores all the points but I still get some love from the fans."
The leading scorer for the Panthers was Brendon Chesson with 13 points. Mickey Wagenhoffer added 9 points, Pete Simoneau and Tarrell Owens scored 7 points, Lukas Mihailovich and Greg Graves scored 6 points and Garrett Hanson had 2 points. The leading scorer for the Titans was Chris Huff with 13 points. Derrick Lewis added 9 points. The Panthers played great defense and held Deandre Reeves and Kevin Conboy to a combined 9 points (Conboy scored 5 and Reeves added 4).
With Broad Run's loss to Park View on the same night, the Panthers get to control their own destiny. They have two road games to close out the regular season and if they win both, they become regular season Dulles District Champions. The Panthers will take on the Loudoun County Raiders in a rescheduled game due to the recent blizzard (date and time to be determined), and on Friday they will take on the Freedom Eagles. The winner of the regular season Dulles District title will get an automatic berth in the Region II tournament and a first round bye in the District tournament.
